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Brewers Welcome Jays

Alex H. MLB News
Carlos Gomez and the Milwaukee Brewers will look to maintain their lead atop the NL Central.

Carlos Gomez and the Milwaukee Brewers will look to maintain their lead atop the NL Central.

The Milwaukee Brewers host the Toronto Blue Jays Tuesday in the first of a quick two-game series between postseason hopefuls.

First pitch at Miller Park is scheduled for 8:10 p.m. ET.

20140818_NL_CentralMilwaukee (70-55, 34-28 home) enters the series having picked up four straight victories, including a three-game sweep of the National League-leading Los Angeles Dodgers over the weekend.

The Brewers have also taken eight of their last 11, a stretch that has seen Ron Roenicke’s club maintain a lead at the top of the NL Central, a position the side has held since April 5.

20140818_AL_EastMeanwhile, Toronto (64-61, 31-35 road) heads into the series knowing that catastrophe is just a few losses away. The Jays are just 4-11 in August, have faded fast in the race for the AL East title, and is currently on the outside looking in when it comes to the American League wild card berths.

Some are suggesting that the Blue Jays’ season will be a bust if they fail to make the postseason, something John Gibbons might publicly deny but secretly indorse.

A win, or a pair of wins, over the NL Central-leading Brewers would be a good place for the team to start if it’s to promptly climb back into the postseason picture.

Winning may be hard to come by though. Toronto has won just one of its last 10 road games, and just three of its last seven head-to-head matchups with the Brewers.

Pitching matchup

J.A. Happ (8-7, 4.20 ERA) will take the mound for the visiting Blue Jays.

The 31-year-old left-hander has recorded just one win in his last seven starts, and will be desperate to turn things around against the Brewers. Happ is 4-3 with an inflated 5.26 ERA when playing on the road this season.

  • Happ is 3-3 with a 5.82 ERA in 10 career games (9 starts) vs. the Milwaukee Brewers
  • Happ is 1-1 with a 4.60 ERA in 3 career games (3 starts) at Miller Park
  • Happ is 0-0 with a 5.14 ERA in 1 game (1 start) vs. the Milwaukee Brewers this season
  • Happ has yet to play at Miller Park this season

Milwaukee’s Mike Fiers (2-1, 1.29 ERA) will look to continue a good run of form that has seen the 29-year-old go 2-0 with a 0.64 ERA in two starts in place of the injured Matt Garza.

The right-hander has faced the Jays just once, recording a pair of shutouts in a scoreless ninth inning back in 2012.

  • Fiers is 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA in 1 career game (0 starts) vs. the Toronto Blue Jays
  • Fiers is 6-9 with a 3.65 ERA in 22 career games (14 starts) at Miller Park
  • Fiers has yet to face the Toronto Blue Jays this season
  • Fiers is 1-1 with a 1.93 ERA in 4 games (1 start) at Miller Park this season

Injury report

Toronto will be without first baseman Dan Johnson (hamstring) and third baseman Brett Lawrie (back), both on the 15-day DL.

Milwaukee’s injury worries mainly center around pitchers, although the club is currently without shortstop Jeff Bianchi () who is currently on the 15-day DL.

Jose Reyes will take a 9-game hitting streak into Tuesday's game.

Jose Reyes will take a 9-game hitting streak into Tuesday’s game.

Toronto Blue Jays vs. Milwaukee Brewers odds for 08/18/2014

Milwaukee (-135) opened as the favorite over Toronto (+125) on the moneyline.

The Blue Jays swept the Brewers in a two-game series north of the border back in July, and have taken three of the last four. Prior to that stretch, the Brewers had dominated the series, winning six straight.

The Brewers have won six of the last seven head-to-head matchups between the two sides in Wisconsin.

Some other trends to consider:

  • Toronto is 43-38 in night games
  • Milwaukee is 44-34 in night games
  • Toronto is 9-6 in interleague play
  • Milwaukee is 10-8 in interleague play
  • Toronto is 47-45 vs. right-handed pitching
  • Milwaukee is 19-12 vs. left-handed pitching
  • Toronto is 4-11 since August 1
  • Milwaukee is 10-6 since August 1
  • Toronto is 15-14 since the All-Star break
  • Milwaukee is 17-12 since the All-Star break

The total opened at 8.5.

Six of the last seven head-to-head meetings between the clubs have finished with the over paying out. The total has gone over in the last five games between the clubs at Miller Park.

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The Jays and Brewers close out their blink-or-you’ll-miss-it series with a matinee game on Wednesday, with first pitch scheduled for 2:10 p.m. ET.

Milwaukee will host the Pittsburgh Pirates over the weekend, while Toronto will return home for a three-game set with the Tampa Bay Rays.

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For a full list of today’s Major League Baseball odds, click here.

For MLB Futures odds, courtesy of Bovada, click here.

For team prop bets, click here.

For player prop bets, click here.

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